Football Routs No. 20 Samford 47-24 in Birmingham to Open SoCon Play 2-0

Saturday, September 23

Birmingham, Ala.

3:00 PM

Chattanooga

3-1 , 2-0

Samford

1-3 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Chattanooga	13	21	3	10	47
Samford	3	14	7	0	24

Notes Notes Quotes Quotes

Photo by: Laura O'Dell

9/23/2023 6:54:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Chattanooga Mocs football team jumped out early and controlled all 60 minutes to help capture its second-straight SoCon win to open the league slate.

NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Chattanooga Mocs football team used a game-opening touchdown drive and a pick-six within 11 seconds of each other to help kickstart a 47-24 rout over No. 20 Samford on Saturday afternoon inside Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

Following the win, Chattanooga has now won seven of eight SoCon contests on the road at Samford and improves to 3-1 overall and 2-0 inside league play. Defending conference champs Samford drops to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in SoCon action after the loss.

"It was a lot of fun today because they were all having fun out there," said head coach Rusty Wright.

"Our staff just did a great job at getting those kids prepared for what they were going to face ... We just did a tremendous job at getting these young guys ready to play this week."

A balanced, and strong, effort on both sides of the ball added historical value when the final numbers were tallied. The offense's 95 points in the last two games are the most since the SIAA champions of 1928 scored 100 while the defense scored two touchdowns in a game for the first time since 2016.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Chattanooga scored on its first offensive drive for the third-straight game after Chase Artopoeus found Tyler Smith all alone from 47 yards to account for a quick 7-0 lead (11:32 1Q). On Samford's first offense snap, Alex Mitchell intercepted a pass and took it all 38 yards for the Mocs second touchdown in 11 seconds, allowing for a 13-0 (XP failed) lead at the 11:21 mark of the opening quarter.

The defense forced Samford to settle for a 33-yard field goal to make things 13-3 with 7:48 on the board in the first before a 62-yard connection from Artopoeus and Jamoi Mayes set up a two-yard Gino Appleberry touchdown rush to open the second quarter. Samford immediately responded with an 8-play, 53-yard touchdown drive to make it 20-10 with 11:41 left before half.

Ailym Ford found the paint from two yards out to cap off an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive following the Bulldogs answer, extending the visitor's lead to 27-10 (8:21 2Q). The UTC defense forced a turnover on downs that led to Ford's second touchdown rush, this one from five yards, to make it 34-10 (2:46 2Q) before Samford responded again with a long scoring drive to account for a 34-17 halftime tally.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a quick five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:24 to cut into the deficit again, 34-24. Chattanooga thwarted any comeback efforts from Samford down the stretch, ultimately tacking on a 26-yard field goal from Jude Kelley and a 78-yard interception return from Kam Brown to amass the 47-24 final score.

SCORING SUMMARY
1^st Quarter
UTC – 11:32 – T. Smith 47 yd reception thrown by C. Artopoeus (XP GOOD) – 7-0 UTC
UTC – 11:21 – A. Mitchell 38 yd interception return (XP FAILED) – 13-0 UTC
SAM – 7:48 – H. Bishop 33 yd field goal – 13-3 UTC

2^nd Quarter
UTC – 14:18 – G. Appleberry 2 yd rush (XP GOOD) – 20-3 UTC
SAM – 11:41 – T. King 21 yd reception thrown by M. Hiers (XP GOOD) – 20-10 UTC
UTC – 8:21 – A. Ford 3 yd rush (XP GOOD) – 27-10 UTC
UTC – 2:46 – A. Ford 5 yd rush (XP GOOD) – 34-10 UTC
SAM – 0:30 – J. Stanton 3 yd rush (XP GOOD) – 34-17 UTC

3^rd Quarter
SAM – 13:36 – C. Smith 21 yd rush (XP GOOD) – 34-24 UTC
UTC – 9:09 – J. Kelley 48 yd FG – 37-24 UTC

4^th Quarter
UTC – 11:58 – J. Kelley 26 yd FG – 40-24 UTC
UTC – 7:23 – K. Brown 78 yd interception return (XP GOOD) – 47-24 UTC

RECORDS – Chattanooga 3-1, 2-0 SoCon ∙ No. 20 Samford 1-3, 0-2 SoCon

SERIES – Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 34-11-3 after tonight's meeting. UTC is now 7-1 in eight total SoCon road games at Samford.

3 NOTES TO KNOW | MORE
- 95 points most in back-to-back games since the 1928 SIAA Champions scored 100 in a 21-14 win over Centenary (Oct. 27) followed by 79-0 over Southwestern (Nov. 3).
- DB Kam Brown's 78-yard pick 6 was the second of his career... last Moc with two or more was safety Jerrell Lawson vs. Tennessee Tech (26) on Aug. 30, 2018 and at North Alabama (38)... longest pick 6 since D.J. Key's 85-yarder against Western Carolina on Oct. 15, 2011.
- Artopoeus has 1,226 yards of total offense to date…most in the first four games of a Mocs career… second only to Nick Tiano's 1,295 in 2018, his second campaign with the program.

QUOTABLE | MORE
Rusty Wright on getting the early pick-six to jump ahead two scores early.
"They gave us a gift and we took advantage of it. That's what you're supposed to do. We just battled all day. We knew it was going to be hot out there today, and it was the hottest day we've had, but we battled and made plays. It was fun down there with Sam [Phillips] making catches, hitting 49-yard field goals, making picks, our quarterback was making throws and we were making blocks. We looked like a football team, and that's when it's fun."

OL Griffin McDowell on how the offensive line has been able to come together.
"Each week we've been fixing our mistakes as a group. We were four-for-four today in the red zone, and that was something we really wanted to do today which was bury them upfront. We have backs and receivers that can get us down the field, so we wanted to be able to do our part to get it in the end zone."

QB Chase Artopoeus on putting themselves in a great position in the SoCon with that win.
"Samford's a great team and we knew the SoCon would probably have to go through them so we're excited with what we just did. Onto Wofford and I'm just excited to play against them."

NEXT GAME – Saturday, Sept. 30 - Chattanooga (3-1, 2-0 SoCon) at Wofford (0-3, 0-1 SoCon) – 6:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

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